Generally, handles for use with containers or implements such as tools or utensils are often thin, difficult to grasp, in some instances are too closely attached to the implement or container, and are not long enough to provide enough room for the average user's hand, making handles generally uncomfortable and difficult to use. In fact, many users recognize the discomfort of grasping or holding handles of containers, such as coffee mugs, tea cups, or tea pots. In many handle configurations, users with relatively larger than average hands can only fit one, two, three, or sometimes zero fingers inside many such handles, making the act of holding the container very uncomfortable and strenuous on their wrists, hands, and fingers. In addition, as people develop chronic medical conditions such as arthritis, it becomes more difficult to firmly grasp handles conventionally found on containers and implements. Studies suggest that contorting one's joints in unnatural ways, such as users must do when trying to drink from a mug with a small and thin handle, may lead to, or worsen, arthritis and other joint conditions.
It is possible that until now, handles of drinking containers have not been designed to be ergonomic because of factors including the additional cost of production, the increase in weight, or the physical constraints of the material being used.
Different materials have different physical constraints. For example, working with clay (the raw material for ceramic coffee mugs) requires that the ceramic be 1.5 cm (0.6 inches) or less in thickness in at least one dimension. When baking or setting the ceramic, these sections that are greater than 1.5 cm (0.6 inches) in all dimensions are prone to cracking, exploding, or not thoroughly drying. As such, configuring handles to be more ergonomic is limited by the inability to make large diameter handles out of conventional materials, such as clay, for conventional containers such as ceramic coffee mugs.